Family Man – Mark Goff

“Life is like baseball. It’s a game of failures, and it’s how you overcome the adversity in life that makes you stronger.”

Mark Goff, 51

Consultant/Instructor

Mark Goff grew up in a seaside town in Massachusetts and came to Florida to pursue baseball dreams. And though he didn’t end up playing in the majors, he’s still living the dream as a pitching and hitting coach for players from boys and girls to young men.

There were detours. He met his future wife, dentist Lisa Goff, and moved with her to Gainesville. She studied there, and he got into the adult beverage business. He runs a couple of different small businesses now, but he’s always trained athletes.

Now he and Lisa have a son, 18, and a daughter, 16, and Goff still gets to “act like a little kid,” he jokes. And he gets to help children, an avocation he loves.

“I’m a big tough guy who is a sissy when it comes to my own children,” says Goff, 51, who lives in Rockledge. “It’s a blessing to be able to get on the field and see kids progress.” His philosophy is to “be all in and do your best,” a lesson he learned from his parents.

He likes to remind young players that hitting three out of ten is considered a great success in baseball — a reminder of how difficult the game, and life, can be.